Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently revealed that he “probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum” if he were growing up today.
The 69-year-old billionaire discussed his alleged connection to autism in his upcoming book, “Source Code: My Beginnings.” An excerpt from the book was published on Sunday in The Wall Street Journal.
In the excerpt from “Source Code: My Beginnings,” Gates explained that his parents, Bill and Mary Gates, “struggled with their complicated son” during his childhood years in the state of Washington.
“If I were growing up today, I probably would be diagnosed on the autism spectrum,” Gates wrote. “During my childhood, the fact that some people’s brains process information differently from others wasn’t widely understood.”
In the book excerpt, Gates noted that the term “neurodivergent,” which is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as “a nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason,” was not widely used like it is today during his childhood years.
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Addressing the difference between autism awareness in today’s culture and autism awareness during his childhood, Gates wrote, “My parents had no guideposts or textbooks to help them grasp why their son became so obsessed with certain projects, missed social cues and could be rude and inappropriate without seeming to notice his effect on others.”
In his book excerpt, Gates explained that while his parents provided him with the “precise blend of support and pressure” that was required to develop his social skills, he still struggled with his social development.
“Even with their influence, my social side would be slow to develop, as would my awareness of the impact I can have on other people,” Gates stated. “But that has come with age, with experience, with children, and I’m better for it.”
Gates added, “I wish it had come sooner, even if I wouldn’t trade the brain I was given for anything.”
In addition to the book excerpt, Gates also discussed autism during an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“This whole thing of Asperger’s or on the spectrum is a fairly new thing. It used to be that autism was clearly identifiable,” Gates said. “But this idea that if you’re slow socializing, you know, I have a behavior where I rock that bothers people, but that’s also common, so-called self-stimming type thing. So there’s a bit of a match there.”
Gates added, “Looking back on that, because I didn’t behave in a standard way, and yet that deep concentration that got applied to math and science, and eventually to all those programming experiences I had, that became a strength.”
